𝐏𝐘𝐑𝐑𝐇𝐈𝐂 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧

02 - first base is nicknames

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪

THAT NIGHT Elia had a fairly sound sleep for once, her dreams only of lingering whispers in cold darkness. Weird, but not terrifying.

She drifted off sometime after dusk, the fatigue of night setting in after the strengthening sunlight faded away. She was comfortable in her bed until she was woken by a conch in the dead of night, startling the Apollo cabin awake. They were informed that an Aethiopian drakon was prowling the borders of camp, searching for gaps in their defenses. Elia had armored up, leading a small team of Lee, Michael, Austin, and Lucia with their bows to send the drakon packing.

The next morning, the group hadn't slept, and Lee was giving a report at breakfast. "It's still out there," he warned, arms crossed over his chest as he stood in at the Apollo table. "Twenty arrows in its hide, and we just made it mad. The thing was thirty feet long and bright green. It's eyes—" he shuddered, cutting himself off. 

Elia was half-asleep at the breakfast table, chin propped on her hand. She faintly heard Chiron and Quintus both say something, but her eyes were closed and she didn't really give a shit. She didn't move until someone slid into the seat beside her and shoved a mug under her nose, filling her senses with the familiar scent of coffee. 

"Tired?" Annabeth raises a brow, laughing as Elia grabs the drink and gulps it down. 

Elia yawns widely, her face one of tired anger, and nods. "So much. I fucking hate that drakon. Interrupting my beauty sleep."

"Yeah, god knows you need it," Annabeth grins before grabbing Elia's bicep, pulling her up and out of her seat and leading the sleepy demigod across the room. The daughter of Apollo follows blindly, coffee still clutched in her hands. The dark-skinned girl shoves her down in a seat next to a warm body, and sits across the table from her. 

"I'll tell you what it's about," Annabeth starts. "The Labyrinth."

Elia looks up at the person next to her with heavy lidded eyes, blinking in shock when she meets the gaze of Percy Jackson. "Hi?" she murmurs, brows furrowing in confusion as she takes another sip of her coffee. 

The boy smiles down at her, taking in her messy hair and sleepy eyes. "Hey," he chuckles, tuning into whatever Annabeth was saying. 

It's truly hard for Elia to even register that words were being spoken, because all she could think about was how Percy's leg is pressed against hers and how he smells like sea breeze and vanilla and how he smiled at her. 

Dear gods, she's down bad.

"Look," Elia tunes back in as Annabeth's voice becomes grave, "Grover is in trouble. There's only one way wecan figure to help him. It's the Labyrinth. That's what Clarisse, Elia and I have been investigating." 

Percy shifts beside Elia, his shoulder brushing hers. The blonde has her chin propped on her hand again, stuggling to keep her eyes open. "You mean the maze where they kept the Minotaur, back in the old days?" the dark-haired boy asks.

"Exactly," Annabeth agrees. Elia nods along, her fingers mindlessly tracing patterns in the wood of the table as her other hand held her mug. 

"So...it's not under the king's palace in Crete anymore," Percy guesses. "The Labyrinth is under some building in America." 

Elia shakes her head and hums, pulling Percy's attention to her. "Not exactly. The Labyrinth is huge. It wouldn't fit under a city, let alone one building." The blonde involuntarily shudders, the thought of it causing cold tendrils of fear to crawl up her spine.